Countries that switch from lamps, candles, flashlights and other traditional lighting systems to solar power can recover the costs in less than one year, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said today, highlighting new studies that show the development and climate benefits of ‘off-grid’ lighting.
“Replacing the world’s 670 million kerosene lamps with cleaner, safer solar-powered lighting represents a major opportunity to deliver across multiple fronts, from cuts in global carbon emissions, health risks from indoor air pollution, support for green technologies and the generation of green jobs,” UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said in a news release.
UNEP-led assessments of solar-power alternatives in 80 countries showed that the payback period in most countries is less than a year, depending on the cost of the LED (light-emitting diode) system and the local price of kerosene.
According to the findings, more than 1.3 billion people live without access to electric light worldwide and pay a total of $23 billion each year to fuel their kerosene lamps with the required 25 billion litres of kerosene.
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